G.O.P. Widens Senate Edge With Defection in the Bronx

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

Published: February 5, 2002

ALBANY, Feb. 4—
State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., a Democrat who has feuded for years with the Bronx Democratic organization, announced today that he was switching parties, giving the Republican majority in the upper house a boost.

Democratic leaders immediately branded Mr. Espada a feckless, disloyal lawmaker and predicted he would be wiped out in next fall's election. His district, the 32nd, an impoverished part of the Bronx that includes Mott Haven, Morrisania and Soundview, has 134,000 registered Democrats and 10,000 Republicans. ''A Republican can't hold that seat in a million years,'' said the Senate Democratic leader, Martin Connor.

Even so, Mr. Espada's defection fed a perception among Republicans that their party is making inroads in the Hispanic neighborhoods of New York, a longtime Democratic bastion. They point out that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a liberal Republican, carried the district in the recent elections, when many Hispanic voters abandoned the Democratic Party after their favorite candidate, Fernando Ferrer, lost the primary.

For his part, Mr. Espada said many people in his district had grown weary of the Democratic Party's monopoly on political power in the Bronx, which he said had not improved their lives in any substantial way. ''They no longer want to be taken for granted,'' he said.

Part of the Republican strategy to hold on to the governor's office is to pick up more support among people with Latin American roots. Gov. George E. Pataki has worked in the past year to win over Latino voters, staying on good terms with leaders like Dennis Rivera, a Puerto Rican and president of New York's largest health care workers' union. He has also supported efforts to stop the Navy's bombing practice on the Puerto Rican island Vieques.

Still, Democrats scoffed at the notion that Mr. Espada, who operates a health clinic, could win as a Republican. Others suggested that he had been an ineffective legislator, having been absent more than half the days the Legislature was in session last year. ''One question that could be asked is, will the senator now come to Albany and attend session for a change?'' Senator Connor said.

The defection comes as the Republicans are fighting to hold onto a seat on Manhattan's Upper East Side that opened up when Senator Roy M. Goodman retired last month. It means that even if the Democratic candidate, Liz Krueger, defeats the Republican Assemblyman John Ravitz in a special election on Feb. 12, the Republicans will keep at least 35 of the 61 Senate seats.

Mr. Espada's political career has been a roller-coaster ride, mostly because of his feud with Bronx Democratic leaders. He was elected to the Senate in 1992 with the blessing of the party's longtime boss in the borough, Roberto Ramirez, but soon had a falling out with him.

Four years later, Mr. Espada and his son openly challenged Mr. Ramirez's leadership. The party retaliated by knocking Mr. Espada, an incumbent, off the ballot in court, demonstrating he had falsified petition signatures, and electing David Rosado, a party stalwart, to the seat.

In 2000, Mr. Espada challenged Mr. Rosado again and won, despite being indicted and tried by the Bronx district attorney for using $221,000 from a health maintenance organization he controlled to pay off old campaign debts. Mr. Espada was acquitted in court and took his seat in Albany, arguing that the contributions, while morally suspect, were technically legal. Last year, he ran for Bronx borough president but was soundly defeated by Adolfo Carrión Jr., whom Mr. Ramirez had anointed just before stepping down from the party leadership post.

The new party boss, Assemblyman José Rivera, said today that the Bronx Democratic machine had beaten Mr. Espada before and would do so again no matter what line he occupies on the ballot. Still, he said the Bronx Democrats needed to repair the damage done in the mayoral race and ward off Mr. Pataki's advances in their territory.

''It's no secret George Pataki has been reaching out and working hard reaching out to Democrats,'' he said. ''And we just had an unfortunate race for mayor and people were not happy about the result. We are in the process of healing.''